Friends of Gualala River Protecting the Gualala River watershed and the species living within it
as of December 13, 2002
Friday, December 13, 2002: After the Coastal Commission votes to oppose his waterbag scheme, Ric Davidge announces that he is withdrawing his applications.
[The rest of this page has not been updated. It reports the status of the waterbag scheme just prior to Davidge’s capitulation.]
Public Notices
The State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) issued public notices on September 13th regarding Alaska Water Exports’ applications to export water from the Albion and Gualala Rivers.
However, the applicant failed to publish legal notices in local newspapers as required. Due to that failure, the Board will re-issue notices, and allow another 60 day comment / protest period from the date those revised notices are issued.
The SWRCB website provides copies of the original notices (Albion, Gualala) , along with a clarification (dated 10/3/02) of several errors contained in those original notices, as well as maps submitted by Alaska Water Exports (Albion, Gualala) , and the official protest form.
Filing deadline for protests
We will have 60 days to respond after the Board issues revised public notices. If they issue those notices in December, then the deadline for the Board to receive protests will be in February, 2003.
Protests submitted in response to the original notices will be kept on file and considered by the Board along with new protests submitted before this new deadline.
Workshops and meetings
To show the depth of public opposition, and to express our concerns about the serious dangers to river ecology and to the local economy posed by the scheme, it is vital that as many people as possible fill out the Board’s official protest form.
Once the notices are re-issued, we will work with other groups to set up workshops and meetings throughout the area to help people fill out the protest forms.
Environmental Impact Report
After the Board has received all of the public responses, they will review them, and decide whether an environmental impact report (EIR) will be required for these applications. If our protests are well-written, the Board can not avoid an EIR.
Assembly Bill 858
On September 27th, Governor Davis signed Assembly Bill 858, requiring studies of the impact of reduced water flow on salmon and steelhead before the Water Board can grant permits for water export from north coast rivers.
Unfortunately, AB 858 is not the end of the waterbag story. Ric Davidge, president of Alaska Water Exports, said in response to the signing of the bill, “We’re not going away”. Since Davidge won’t quit, we can’t afford to either. We must continue to oppose his damaging scheme.
To help you submit a protest, we have prepared a package of information about the the protest process and the waterbag scheme:
- Instructions on how to fill out the protest form
- A list of the primary grounds for protesting,
including lists of endangered and threatened species - Example of a completed protest form
- Description of the water rights process
- A waterbag fact sheet
- A calendar of workshops and meetings
If you would like to help prepare materials and/or organize workshops, or if you have questions, please send email to info@gualalariver.org, or call 707-785-3431.
Join Friends of the Gualala River
The regulatory process will be a lengthy one. We will monitor the process; provide education and status reports via meetings, events, our website, and other communications; develop advocacy materials; and advocate on behalf of the River before State and Federal agencies and with the public.
We need all the help you can give. To join, print and send in a membership form.
Send your tax-deductible donations to:
Friends of the Gualala River
P.O. Box 1543
Gualala, CA 95445
Note
The information in this update is based on phone conversations and email exchanges with Kathryn Gaffney at the State Water Resources Control Board.
Ms. Gaffney is the Board’s project engineer assigned to the Alaska Water Exports applications (#31194: Gualala and #31195: Albion). Her email address for these applications is: gual_albion@waterrights.swrcb.ca.gov
Any errors in the above information are the responsibility of the Friends of the Gualala River, and not Ms. Gaffney.
